Purpose – The innovation of cryptography technique and blockchain has made cryptocurrency an alternative medium of exchange due to its safety, transparency and cost effectiveness. But its main feature cannot be separated from the users who use cryptocurrency for their illegal transactions. There are several arguments related to the legality of cryptocurrency. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of cryptocurrency based on characteristics of money, legal perspective, economic perspective and Sharia perspective. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the methodology used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The object of this research is cryptocurrency. The data are secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers review, working paper and Sharia consultant reports addressing the legality of cryptocurrency. The literature review analysis includes the following steps: material collection, descriptive analysis, discussion with people in Sharia competency and intuitive-subjective material evaluation. Findings – Regarding the characteristic of money, cryptocurrency is acceptable. But in terms of the legal perspectives, cryptocurrency does not meet the criteria as currency. From the economic perspective, cryptocurrency does not fully meet the characteristic currency due to high price volatility, and from the Sharia perspective, cryptocurrency can be considered property (mal) but not as a monetary value (thamanniyah). Research limitations/implications – The research findings are based on the journal articles, working paper and Sharia consultant report, and it may lack Sharia’s opinion. Any further discussion related to Sharia perspectives will be a great input to enrich the study. Practical implications – This study also includes the implications related to the opportunities and the risks of cryptocurrency that can be discussed for the development of the cryptocurrency in the future. Social implications – This study includes the implication cryptocurrency is using as nature of money and not as speculative instrument. Originality/value – This study argued the legality of cryptocurrency in four perspectives such as the nature of money, legal, economy and Sharia perspective.

One of the effects of exchange rate fluctuations is cross-border shopping by consumers. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effects of Malaysian ringgit depreciation on cross-border shopping of Bruneians. This has been done by using daily data from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016 (total 1,096 observations) on traffic flows to Miri, a border town of Eastern Malaysia. We find that a 1 percent increase in the depreciation of Malaysian ringgit per Brunei dollar increases the number of Bruneian shoppers to Miri by 2.10 percent. We also estimated that the average spending per person per trip to Miri is B$155 and the total spending of Bruneian shoppers in Miri is $175 million a year. This total spending is 1.11 percent of gross domestic product of Brunei in 2016. The result from this study would be helpful in designing policies for cross-border shopping of Bruneians. This is because the number of visits and the total expenditure amount of Bruneians in Miri are related to high outflow of money which results in a loss to the local economy – which may deteriorate local business.

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